Naruto loved his sister very much.

From the very beginning, Naruto knew his sister was bright. She grasped things quicker than he could, and she always went out of her way to teach them to him, as well. The time at the orphanage, he knew she hated that part the most. Naruto also had to admit, the time at the orphanage was his least favorite part of his childhood. Nearly every adult there spared them very little time, and the time they did give them was usually riddled with sneers and lectures—even when they had done nothing wrong. When they finally managed to grab their own apartment, Naruto was thrilled.

They had a garden—a damn good one, if you asked Naruto—and they had furniture and it was warm and best of all, it was just the two of them. Sure, Naruto definitely wouldn't have minded if, you know, they had parents, but living with his twin was just as good... at least he thought so. He didn't really know any other way, so he'd like to imagine it was.

Anyway, they managed just fine on their own and then Oji-san enrolled them in the academy. Naruto could remember he was so stoked because he always wanted to be a shinobi and he remembered Miwako's own excitement, as well. He could remember how the two of them had stayed up all night the night before their first day, talking avidly about what they were expecting.

He could remember the absolute shock about finding about Kurama. On one hand, he was a little sad his sister didn't introduce the two sooner, on the other hand he was alright with that. He didn't really like the fox, and the only reason he put up with him was because Miwako seemed to like him.

Really, really like him. It was weird. That didn't mean Naruto would grow to like the fox, too, though. Some part of him actually resented it—him—because it was his fault he and his sister were hated. If it wasn't for that fox, who knows what kind of lives the two of them could be leading? They might have even had loving parents! So he was just fine with Miwako keeping that secret to herself because at that time, he wanted nothing to do with it.

After graduating the academy, Naruto thought he got put on an okay team. On the bright side, he was with his sister—which was awesome!—but on the down side he was with the bastard. At first he thought the only good thing that was going to come out of that team, was that Miwako sure as hell wasn't the bastard's fan girl. Things started off a bit roughly, but thanks to Miwako's idea about the whole 'truth always' and 'like ripping a band aide off—really fast' idea, things seemed to be going a lot smoother than it could have been. They also got a pretty cool sensei.

He knew Miwako was getting special training for tracking when she was younger. He even met the man a handful of times, though it was only ever in passing. Miwako seemed to absolutely love those sessions and Naruto was glad. Naruto was very glad. And while he loved sharing time with his sister, he held no love for learning to track and despite Miwako offering dozens of time, he declined each time. But he was still happy for his sister because she finally seemed to find someone she really admired and that made her happy.

On their first mission, Naruto had to admit he was scared. Terrified, actually. If it wasn't for the bastard's words, Naruto would have remained absolutely frozen during the battle. But then he and the ba—Sasuke teamed up and they kicked serious ass. They dominated their opponent, knocking him out before Kakashi even finished his! Kakashi was pleased with both of them—and praised both of them! Naruto couldn't even remember anyone else, besides Oji and Iruka, who praised him and damn it felt fantastic. He could see why Miwako seemed to like Kakashi so much then, because he was a cool sensei.

He was hurt that his sister had fared little better, and felt guilty that he couldn't be there for her. The mission was quiet and worrying for the rest of the time, because she was oddly subdued and he wasn't sure what he could do, but by the time they made it back to Konoha, she was her old self and assuaged Naruto's worries.

The Wave mission was certainly an eye-opener. In more ways than one.

One, he found out that the bastard was actually alright.

Two, he found out his sister didn't tell him everything.

The former was pretty cool to discover in their tag battle with Haku.

The latter was rather disheartening. He knew full and well that his sister faked her sleeping in, and that she did not stay in Tazuna's house. He had a pretty good guess now to what she had done, but at that moment he didn't have a clue. He was hurt she didn't trust him enough to tell him, but at the same time he could see what happened to her had really shaken her up. She tried hard to hide it—and Naruto was sure Sasuke and Kakashi didn't notice—but she was Naruto's twin so of course he noticed.

Naruto knew that Miwako had a tendency to be a bit protective of him, so at that time it didn't really surprise him that she would keep something less-than-stellar from him. From her eyes, she was probably thinking he was protecting his... innocence or whatever.

Looking back on it now, Naruto was still mildly offended, but he could understand her reasoning. Naruto was pretty sure if he was in her place, he would have done the same. There was very little he wouldn't do for his sister, and after their first mission he learned very early on he wanted to always protect her.

Naruto was pretty thrilled Haku and Zabuza didn't die on that mission, because he got a lifelong friend in the process and Haku was a pretty cool guy.

The Chūnin Exams were something else, really. On the bright side, he got to meet Gaara, who would later on become a very precious friend—a brother in fact. Meeting Gaara and his siblings had been a rather interesting affair. He didn't get off on the right foot with Kankurō—and even now he didn't particularly like the fellow, but he was Gaara's sibling and cared about Gaara, so Naruto guessed that made him okay. Temari was a kick-ass kunoichi, and she seemed to get along rather well with Miwako.

Speaking of Miwako... it was rather odd to see her so bright and cheerful during the exams, with her encounters with Gaara. Naruto had to admit he was rather suspicious, and looking back on it now, he could take a shot in the dark guess at what it was.

She clearly had a crush on him.

Right? Naruto always saw the girls go from downer-to-hyperactive whenever Sasuke was in the room, and his sister was rather pessimistic, so to see her cheerful, he instantly drew his own conclusions.

Part of him hated Gaara the instant he figured it out.

Then he thought about it and he concluded he was alright with Gaara marrying his sister. The guy was practically a brother anyway, and he couldn't trust his baby sister with anyone else, so he is totally okay with their marriage.

Just as long as Gaara quit being Kazekage and moved to Konoha because his baby sister was not moving out of Konoha.

Ever.

End of story.

Seriously.

Not allowed.

The tests were rather hard—and if you asked Naruto, the written test was the hardest. The Forest of Death was... well, okay Naruto really couldn't tell you about the Forest of Death because one minute he was talking to his sister, the next he was at the tower. Oh, Miwako filled the two of them in on what she had done—and the fact that she chose to walk there with Gaara did not go unnoticed by Naruto.

The whole Orochimaru fiasco was rather worrying, but Naruto was glad they didn't actually have to fight the little bastard face to face. After his most recent battle with him, Naruto was damn sure the three of them wouldn't have lasted a minute against the Shinobi-Who-Would-Never-Fucking-Die. Miwako had the right idea about keeping him and Sasuke out of the fray.

The preliminary matches were alright, he enjoyed his fight with Tenten—not only because it was a good match—but because he learned Tenten was a keen girl and he had made another friend. Sasuke and Miwako's 'match' (if you would even call it that because they were so one-sided) was funny to watch, and Hinata's was the most painful one to watch.

Hinata... Hinata was a very... she was a very...

Naruto liked Hinata very much.

At the academy, it was Miwako who pointed her out to Naruto. Naruto could recall, vaguely, that he had saved her once and when Miwako pointed out that the girl had been stalking them for a while, Naruto was intent on finding out why. The girl had fainted, obviously, and Naruto was left unsure of what to do. It was Miwako who, quite plainly, said that she was shy and Hinata clearly held Naruto in high regards. Since then, Naruto started paying a bit more attention to the girl.

The few times he and Miwako didn't have lunches, he noticed that they were mysteriously given a new one, and that Hinata girl mysteriously didn't have one anymore. And while he really wanted a chance to talk to her, he really didn't want to make her faint because somehow that just didn't seem very nice to him, so Naruto compromised with himself he would wait for the day where she didn't faint on sight of him. If you asked Naruto, he'd say that day was very soon and he had every intentions of seeing for himself.

The training month was... Well it was... something. He was furious at Kakashi for what he had done to Miwako—even now he felt severely annoyed at him when he thought about it—but at the same time he really enjoyed training with Miwako. It had been a while since the two of them trained together and Naruto had missed it (not that he even realized he did until they started to train together again). They got to meet Jiraiya, too, which was completely epic, even if he was a pervert—sorry, super pervert—he was a nice guy and a great teacher. Plus, he really seemed to care about him and Miwako.

He was actually kind of proud of Sasuke during that month. Just of the fact that Sasuke actually seemed to care about Miwako was... nice. It made Naruto happy to have him as a friend.

The actual exams...

Naruto was proud of his fight with Neji, both in the fact that he won—and became a Chūnin because of it—and in the fact that he had made yet another friend. Sasuke had done fairly well against Lee (Naruto wasn't quite sure if he would have been able to defeat Lee at that point in time), and everything seemed to be going well.

Until Gaara went apeshit crazy against Miwako. Naruto wasn't quite sure what had happened to his sister after that because one moment she was kicking Gaara's ass, the next she was frantically sprinting towards the roof. He didn't really have time to consider, really, after all some idiot tried to put everyone under a genjutsu. Before he knew it, he and Shikamaru were off in pursuit of Sasuke (who had gone after Gaara) with the help of Pakkun.

Naruto's battle with Gaara was something he would never forget. It was probably the most important battle up to date in his life. That battle meant more to him than any other battle, it not only showed—hey! He could do it! He could kick ass on his own and he could and would be strong enough to become Hoakge—that he had the capabilities, but that he and his sister weren't alone. That someone was in just as much pain as they were from their childhood, and that while their childhood wasn't the best, it could have been so much worse. He kicked ass and through it all, he managed to nab a new brother.

Finding Tsunade had been an interesting mission, to say the least, and aside from the whole Akatsuki run in and Orochimaru, it had been a fairly good mission. It got even better by the fact that he learned the Rasengan and that when they got back, Tsunade made him a Chūnin. Then there was the whole Land of Sn—Spring—thing (which was cool because he totally got to save a princess—and he had her autograph!), which went pretty well despite Kakashi showing up.

Afterwards he knew Kakashi and his sister had a... talking to, and he was glad for them. He knew it must have really upset her to be on such bad terms with Kakashi and since that... talking to... they'd been pretty good. His first mission leading on as a Chūnin had been... eventful... but nothing he couldn't handle.

Then it was time for his training with Jiraiya and all was well... until he found out about his parents. And that Miwako knew before he did.

He was... Well, he was furious. And when Jiraiya pointed out he couldn't really keep a secret—after all he had, even if unintentionally, blabbed Miwako and Kurama's secret to Jiraiya—it didn't help to calm him down. He was still pissed off. He knew they had damn good reasons for not telling him, he could see their logic and he understood it, but it was still his parents! He had a right to know about them and—and—

Well, even when Miwako came back to train with them it was still a good week before he was in a more understanding mood.

Rescuing Gaara... Rescuing Gaara was actually a bit of a blur for Naruto. The only things he could clearly remember from that mission was Kurama being an asshole, Chiyo dying and Gaara waking up. Oh and he remembered how annoying that transy was.

The whole Orochimaru mission...

He learned seven things.

One: Kurama was a fucking asshole.

Two: Sasuke gets really, really pissy when his move misses, like, five times. And scary. Very scary.

Three: Kurama was a fucking asshole.

Four: Orochimaru was immortal. Selfish bastard.

Five: Kurama was a fucking asshole.

Six: His sister kicks ass with seals.

Seven: Kurama was seriously... a fucking asshole.

Sasuke... Sasuke was... He was family. Naruto never really had a big family, just Miwako, himself and the old man, but the old man died and then it was just Miwako and himself. And Sasuke. Somehow... Somehow despite being a total bastard, the son of a bitch managed to worm his way into Naruto's line of sight and one thing lead to another... which lead to another... which lead to Naruto considering Sasuke being his friend. His best friend. He was the only one in the world that would fight Naruto on equal grounds, and enjoy the fight just as much as Naruto. He was the first person—well, the first peer—to accept Naruto, furry little problem and all, and not give a shit. He knew Sasuke could be a bit of an asshole at times, but he also knew that Sasuke had his back all the way.

Kakashi was... Well, in some cases he would always remain as the man that broke his sister's heart and Naruto would always have some resentment for that, but in every other way he was just a pretty cool sensei.

Miwako was his sister. He knew, full and well, of her devotion towards him. He knew she loved him endlessly and it made him really happy at times because there was just something nice about being loved unconditionally by family. He knew she had his back and would always support him, just like he knew she hated Konoha.

Yes. He knew. She tried to hide it, but he could read between the lines. He had mixed feelings about that. He could understand why she hated it, and he knew her opinion of it wasn't going to change no matter he said or did, so he didn't bother. Naruto also knew that the only reason she graduated from that academy—that she hadn't followed through with her quiet mutters of Maybe I should just drug him and flee to Kumo, was because he loved the village and because he wanted to stay.

He felt a little selfish that he was taking advantage of her devotion towards him to manipulate her into staying, but... Naruto knew, full and well, there was very little (if there was anything at all) his sister wouldn't do, wouldn't sacrifice, to ensure his happiness and his safety. On one hand, he was glad someone was willing to go so far for him, but on the other hand it just made him worry. From the mutterings of Kurama, Naruto could gather she would very much be willing to die to make sure he was okay... even if her death didn't ensure he was okay. Even if it was just a chance.

He really... really didn't like that. He didn't like the thought of his sister not having enough self-preservation to take care of herself. It made him... uneasy.

And then... there was Kurama.

The asshole.

Oh, Naruto knew he wasn't really a bad person, and Miwako seemed to hold a high affection towards the beast, but that didn't mean Naruto liked him. Nope. Not at all. The little bugger could go to hell for all Naruto cared.

Speaking of the bugger...

What?! Naruto finally deigned to resume his connection with Kurama. Ever since the whole Orochimaru-fiasco, Naruto demanded to be able to turn off his communication with Kurama at will and Miwako obliged, adjusting the seal accordingly. But for the last ten minutes the beast had been trying to garner his attention and it was distracting.

About fucking time, you little brat! You need to go to your sister!

Why? Is she starting to nag on you or something? Naruto thought snarkily.

She's fighting two Akatsuki members, alone and losing.

Naruto froze.

She refuses to rely on my power because she's too close to the village and because she knows how much you fucking love that God-damned village and because of such she refuses to run the risk. So thanks to you, asshole, your sister is about to get fucking captured by Akatsuki, and it's your fault that she—

Naruto felt a coldness wash over him, a type of coldness that seemed to seep down into his very bones. And then it was gone, replaced with absolute fury.

Where. Is. My. Sister?

('･ω･')

Naruto was breathing heavily, but not from exhaustion or otherwise, from sheer anger. He found his sister, and the moment he reached her, the Akatsuki bitches were gone—some mutterings about a leader—but Naruto didn't give a shit then because his sister was unconscious. The Akatsuki members escaped and Naruto, Kakashi and Yamato had to take his baby sister to the Konoha hospital and Tsunade herself came down from her office to treat her.

Naruto paced right aside the ER, his teeth bared in a silent growl and it took considerable effort not to break the thing nearest to him. Kakashi was leaning against a wall near the door to the ER, his body tense and face blank and one by one, more came. Sasuke was the next to show up, his body tense and face tight. He didn't say a single word, just exchanged a long glance with Naruto before he leaned against the wall opposite to Kakashi. Shikamaru was next, his eyes downcast as he took a seat in a chair. He didn't say anything for a while, and Naruto thought it was for the best. He wasn't quite sure he was calm enough to handle a civil conversation about what happened.

Then came Chōji, Ino and Hinata. Sasame and Sakura were actually in the ER with Shizune and Tsunade. Then Kiba. Then Shino. Then Kurenai. Naruto wondered briefly why Asuma didn't show, but dismissed it quickly.

It was a long time before the doors opened.

Naruto whirled around, his eyes sharpening. "Well?"

"She'll live," Tsunade said, her eyes lowering.

Sakura and Sasame exchanged looks, both equally dark.

Shizune cleared her throat and Tsunade gave a sigh. "I've put her back to sleep. She... She needs the rest. Now, tell me what happened."

Shikamaru straightened up, standing up from his chair.

Naruto spared another look at the closed doors before he turned around and listened to Shikamaru's tale.

But he couldn't quite erase the dark looks the kunoichi had given. Nor Kurama's words.

...and it's your fault...